NHL and NHLPA executives are expected to announce on Friday the details of the rekindled World Cup of Hockey, a tournament that will feature eight teams, including two unconventional ones. Besides Canada, the U.S., Russia, Sweden, the Czech Republic and Finland, the league and union will announce a European All-Star team will participate. That team will be stocked with players who come from countries other than those participating as nations. Also, the tournament will feature a team with North American players under the age of 23. An executive with an NHL sponsor confirmed the details to TSN. The tournament will also feature a best-of-three final, which will help to drive up the broadcast and sponsor rights for the tournament both in North America and Europe. The National Hockey League and its players association have told team executives they hope to generate between $75 million and $100 million from the rekindled World Cup of Hockey. A person familiar with the matter told TSN that the tournament, which is scheduled to be held in September 2016, will raise about half its revenue from the sale of broadcast and internet streaming rights. The NHL and NHLPA have predicted those rights may garner close to $50 million. Its a gamble to spend so much on a tournament like the World Cup when theres no guarantee Team Canada will advance beyond the round robin portion. But if it does, there could be a big payoff in TV ratings. The final of the World Cup will be a best-of-three format, TSN has learned. Besides TV rights, the NHL and NHLPA will also sell sponsorship rights to the World Cup. They anticipate selling to eight premier corporate sponsors and negotiating deals of at least $1.5 million in each category, a source told TSN. The NHL and NHLPA will also garner revenue from ticket and merchandise sales. However, its expected that the NHL and the Players Association will have to pay Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment at least $5 million for hosting the three-week tournament. While executives with the Montreal Canadiens wanted to host some of the World Cup games at the Bell Centre, the NHL and its players union decided to host all of the games in Toronto. That way, if the tournament is a success, they could auction off the rights to host the games in 2019, perhaps, to the city that offers the best revenue guarantee - be it Montreal, New York, Stockholm, Moscow, or another city. To be sure, there are still many unanswered questions about how much profit the NHL and players union will generate from the World Cup. They need to pay for insurance for all of the players. Typically, the NHL and the Players Association buy premiums that offer better coverage than simply career-ending policies. Payouts are rare, but they do happen. The Islanders John Tavares, for instance, was covered by an insurance policy when he was injured during the Winter Olympics earlier this year in Sochi, Russia. The Islanders were compensated by an insurance company for the time he missed. Its unclear how much insurance will cost the NHL and NHLPA. Then Hockey Canada president Bob Nicholson said last August that it would cost at least $1 million simply to pay for insurance for the 47 Canadian players invited to Team Canada workouts in advance of the Winter Olympics. NHL player agent Allan Walsh said some NHL players have been skeptical over whether its a good idea to steer away from the national team concept. Some players believe this should be limited to players playing for their country, Walsh told TSN. What are you playing for if its Team Young Guns or European All Stars? What are you playing for? Thats a problem. Its an issue. Walsh said featuring a young guns team particularly could lead to lopsided scores. The downside is that team gets pounded, Walsh said. I dont think it would have an impact on the players psychology or career - just an impact on the legitimacy of the team in the tournament, when people sit back and say whether this kind of team was a good or bad idea. Still, Walsh and other agents said there could be a great payoff for the league from marketing a team built around young stars like Nathan McKinnon, Connor McDavid and Jonathan Drouin. Walsh said that while some fans have called for the NHL and NHLPA to include teams from Slovakia or Slovenia, that might not be practical, since the tournament is run by the league and its players association - both of which want to use the event to build the profile of their own players, not those playing in leagues overseas. Wholesale Celtics Jerseys .com) - Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer were among the third-round winners Friday at the French Open. Boston Celtics Pro Shop . Sizemore, who turned 29 on Jan. 4, has been limited to six games over the past two seasons because of an injured left knee that twice required surgery. He originally got hurt on Feb. 25, 2012, during a fielding drill in Oaklands first full-squad spring training workout and had surgery that March 21 to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament. https://www.cheapceltics.com/. Ortiz hit a pair of two-run homers, including his 400th shot in a Red Sox uniform, and drove in a career high-tying six runs to power Boston past the Houston Astros 10-7 on Saturday night. Boston Celtics Store . - Benched Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Josh Freeman said he has Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and voluntarily entered the NFL substance abuse program more than a year ago after mistakenly taking a medication to treat the condition. Cheap Celtics Jerseys . Watch the game live on TSN and TSN GO at 9pm et/6pm pt. Serge Ibaka returned to the Thunder lineup from a calf injury that was supposed to sideline him for the remainder of the postseason and the results were sparkling. OKLAHOMA CITY -- The drama was sapped early from Oklahoma Citys blowout win over Utah, except for one detail. Thunder forward Kevin Durant is nearing Michael Jordans mark for consecutive games with at least 25 points. With the crowd buzzing late in the third quarter, Durant reached the mark for the 38th consecutive time, leaving him two games short of Jordans accomplishment, which is the most in the past 50 years. He finished with 31 points and nine assists to help Oklahoma City defeat the Jazz 116-96 on Sunday afternoon. Jordan did it for 40 straight games for the Chicago Bulls during the 1986-87 season. Durant is aware of the mark, but the NBAs leading scorer left worrying about it to the crowd at Chesapeake Energy Arena. "Im just going out there, playing my game," he said. "If it happens, cool. If it doesnt, cool. Thats how I approach it -- just playing within the offence. If a shots there, shoot it. If a pass is there, pass it. I try to play as simple as I can. If that (25 points or more) comes with it, then so be it, but if not, Im not going to lose any sleep." Durant was fouled on a 3-pointer with 4:02 left in the third quarter and was awarded three free throws. He scored his 24th point on the first one, and the crowd got into it before the second one. After he made it, the fans let out a loud cheer. He also made the third to give the Thunder an 84-56 lead. Durant extended the streak without playing in the fourth quarter for the second consecutive game. Russell Westbrook scored 19 points, Serge Ibaka had 17 points and Caron Butler added 15 for the Thunder, who have won six of seven. Oklahoma City shot 55 per cent from the field and made 11 of 18 3-pointers and 23 of 26 free throws. Enes Kanter had 18 points and 12 rebounds, Richard Jefferson scored 17 points and Gordon Hayward added 16 points and nine rebounds for the Jazz, who have lost four in a row. Utah trailed 11-0 before Jefferson finally scored with 7:34 left in the first quarter. Oklahoma City led 26-9 at the end of the quarter. It matched the fewest points the Thunder have allowed in any quarter this season and was the lowest for the Jazz in a first quarter this season. Utah missed the NBA low for an opening quarter this season by making a basket with 19.5 seconds left. "They were aggressive on the defensive end and we settleed for a lot of jump shots," Jazz coach Tyrone Corbin said.dddddddddddd "We missed jump shots and they were able to run the ball out on us. In that first quarter, I thought we were hungry for it, but thats what good teams do. They come out and try to bury you right from the beginning. They had a lot of success doing it in the first quarter." Haywards first basket came with 3:21 left in the first half. Even with his 3-point play, the Jazz still trailed 49-30. Oklahoma City led 59-40 at halftime, and it might have been a larger lead if Jefferson hadnt dropped in 15 points in the first half, well above his season average of 10.2 points per game. Durant scored 18 points in the first half on 6-for-8 shooting and helped the Thunder shoot 57 per cent before the break. Utah cut Oklahoma Citys lead to 89-77 late in the quarter before Durant hit a 3-pointer over Hayward with two seconds remaining to push the lead back up to 15 points. "That was tough," Utah forward Marvin Williams said. "That was a big three. It almost took the wind out of your sails, to fight so hard to get back to that position, to cut it to 12, thinking youre going to start the fourth at 12 (down), and he makes an amazing shot like that over a defender. It was a big shot. It kind of took the wind out of our sails, almost, a little bit, because we had fought so hard." Hayward scored 13 points in the period, and the Jazz scored 37 points on 60 per cent shooting. Utah scored 21 points in the final 3:44 of the third. The Thunder held on, and now, Oklahoma City can look ahead to Thursdays showdown with West leader San Antonio. The Spurs have won 17 in a row and are three games ahead of the Thunder for the best record in the West with nine games to go. "Just continue to play our brand of basketball," Butler said. "Play with a lot of energy and effort and do a good job defensively and stay on the same accord, and we will be fine." NOTES: Thunder G Reggie Jackson missed his second straight game with a mid-back sprain. ... Jazz G Alec Burks returned to action after missing the previous four games with a left ankle sprain. ... Utah missed its first seven shots. ... Oklahoma City won three of four against the Jazz this season. ... Utah, which has the worst record in the Western Conference, won the previous meeting 112-101. ' ' '